Martin Eden, Meet the Hollywood Screenwriting Directory...

It has arrived!  I just received my Spring 2013 Hollywood Screenwriting Directory from The Writers Store.  This directory is said to contain more than 2500 listings for prominent industry insiders, both from studios and independent financiers for film projects. The HSD also includes how-to instructions on preparing query letters, treatments and other formatting guides.

It appears to be a very nice tool.  It should be, at the tune of $49.95 U.S.  In flipping through the 300+ page resource, it appears to be neatly organized.  It begins with 2 pages on how to best use the directory. It then describes and illustrates very nicely, how to structure a screenplay to comply with industry standards. Though in my mind, if you don't already know this, you should not have this directory.  It takes many months, even years to write a screenplay that is fit for the marketplace. If you don't know the basics of screenplay structure, by the time you craft your script and drag it through the many revisions that are necessary to get it near perfection, then a directory like this will have become obsolete. Things in Hollywood are changing  constantly - industry people are moving around all the time, while new production companies emerge. I feel like much of the information in this directory will have changed by September.  I suppose that is why this volume is called "Spring 2013".

Moving on through the contents is a section on writing query letters.  The well crafted query letter is essential in getting your foot in the door of industry professionals.  In fact most producers, agents, managers, will not even look at your script until they first see a query letter that briefly introduces you and your idea.  I know this to be true as I have had a half-dozen requests for my script Martin Eden as a result of a query letter submission. I also think it helps that Martin Eden has done well in the screenplay competition circuits. Any awards or accomplishments that you or your work has achieved should be leveraged and showcased in your query letter.

Before the directory of industry insiders begins, the directory has a final section on treatments and log lines. A logline is a very brief description of your story its most bare essence - and I mean very brief, like one, at he very most 2 sentences.  My last logline reads:


Martin Eden is an impoverished sailor whose ambitious pursuit of love, fame and fortune ultimately leads to one final voyage, to the very brink of his own self-destruction. 

or

Martin Eden is a rough, working class sailor whose ambitious pursuit of self-education and personal refinement, for the sake of love, eventually elevates him to a new class status. But Martin’s view from the top was far from what he had ever imagined. 

or

Martin Eden is a working-class sailor whose love for an upper-class socialite and pursuit of literary fame ultimately brings him on one final voyage, to the brink of self-destruction.

I've used each of these with varying degree of success. 

Lastly, the treatment is described in the same section as the logline. I have never put together a treatment and I need to look at this more closely, before I begin casting my nets. A treatment is a summary of the major themes and elements of your story.  I need to do that soon... very soon.  

I want to begin getting into the directory and sending out my query letters. I will likely do this in small waves. I do have a full time job as a logistics manager, I do have a family and children.  And at this moment, with 70 degree temperatures finally here in Chicago, I have a backyard calling. I have a vegetable garden to plant and some clean-up yet to do...

 

I Think I'm an Aspie, but We Often Make Good Writers...

It seems that I display an adequate amount of traits to place neatly on the spectrum for being classified as an “Aspie”.  An Aspie is the affectionate term for a person having Asperger's  syndrome.  Asperger's syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's disorder (AD), is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development. Although not required for diagnosis, physical clumsiness and atypical (peculiar, odd) use of language are frequently reported.  In short, Aspergers is a high-functioning form of autism. Most Aspies exhibit profound intelligence in selective areas, as well as the capacity to be highly creative and imaginative.  

This explains a lot! And the more I explore those traits and behaviors that define and characterize an Aspie, the more that I'm convinced that I can classify myself as such.  My wife and children have no doubts whatsoever in accepting my recent self-diagnosis. It was like an "Ahaa!" moment for the entire family, once I began to share my findings.

What initially prompted my exploration into Asperger’s syndrome was hearing speaker and author, David Finch at our local community college. Finch was diagnosed with Asperger’s later in life (age 35). The undiagnosed condition nearly ended his marriage.  Finch wrote the New York Times bestseller, Journal of Best Practices, a memoir.  My wife and I have been lately attending literary, celebrity and book signing events at the college.  We’ve find it makes for an enlightening, often entertaining and relatively cheap night out and a good break from routine.

Mr. Finch’s talk was scheduled to run an hour and a half.  I believe this event was free, so we decided that we would stay for some of it and bolt once it started getting boring.  He ended up speaking for 2 hours and we stayed for the duration.  David Finch recalled his experiences with Asperger’s from grade school through adolescence, his college years and professional career.  We found him to be entertaining, while at the same time he painted a painfully close-to-home account of an Aspie who’s learned to adapt in a neurotypical world.  All I could think as Finch spoke was, WOW!  That is me!  I could completely relate to his journey through life.  My arm was bruised as my wife kept nudging me in that way as to express her thought…”sound familiar, Jim?”.

There are a couple online tests available that further reinforced my suspicion that I might be an Aspie.  In the first quiz that asked 50 questions, I scored 3 points from what is considered being full-blown Asperger’s.  Apparently, most who received a similar score were 86 percent likely to be diagnosed with the condition.  The second test I took, the Aspie Quiz, asked 150 questions.  In this test I placed more between Aspie and Neurotypical, but weighing slightly heavier on the Aspie side.

I always suspected that there was more to my peculiarities – my social awkwardness and avoidance of social interaction and frequent need to be alone with my books.  This also explains much of why I found it almost impossible to focus and learn in a classroom setting, unless it was a topic that I was really interested in.  This could also account for the fact that my formal education ended in 10^th grade.  Most people, until they know better, naturally assume that I’ve had a college education.  It’s very awkward for me when asked what university I’d attended.  There was no diagnosis back when I was in school for conditions such as ADHD, ADD, ODD, OCD or Asperger’s syndrome.  Everybody just thought me shy, awkward and odd, well actually, I’m still all of those things, but much like Finch, I’ve forced myself to adapt as best I could to a neurotypical  world.  It’s not easy, but through the years I have found coping mechanisms to help with my social anxiety. 

I often find myself scripting out dialogue in my head before going to social functions, almost as if assuming a character role.  Hmmm…I wonder if this is why I seem pretty clever at writing screenplay dialogue?  Sometimes the use of props is helpful to me.  Holding onto a pen in my pocket or fiddling with a rubber band has always been a great aide for some bizarre reason.  I must always have an escape plan.  A few weeks ago I attended a wedding shower for a co-worker.  I care and respect this person very much and sense that she herself has had some difficulty conforming to what’s been deemed as the neurotypical model. My friends must also be intelligent, or I find little use for their company.  I will force myself to engage in social situations if the person who’s the focus is someone important to me.  Generally, I do well once I adjust to the surroundings, have a couple drinks and seek out a comfortable and familiar group to converse with.  This particular event also had a definitive time frame, which helps.  I do very poorly with ambiguity.

The party was at a house and an unfamiliar setting for me, but I’m good as long as I have an escape plan in place.  When I walked into the house, the party was in full swing.  I was greeted at the front door by a familiar face, the daughter of a dear friend, who offered to take my jacket.  I immediately asked where she was meaning to store it.  She offered to take it upstairs with all the other coats.  Oh no!! Panic…  I said that doesn’t work for me – so I neatly tucked it near the front entryway, in an alcove that nicely accommodated an antique chest of sorts.  I never felt the need to make an escape, but I always like to know that I have the option.  And as usual, I did have a good time.  I always leave these situations wondering why I obsess so much at the prospect of social engagement, creating so much unnecessary anxiety.  

I have a new found freedom in knowing I’m an Aspie. This is actually a positive breakthrough in understanding some of my oddities – it would fill a book in itself if I actually took the time to chronicle all of my strange do’s and don’ts, my aversion to certain noises, forcing myself to look people in the eyes, my abhorrence for small talk, my ritual practices and strict adherence to routines.  I’ve learned to keep much of this stuff at home, so it is really my poor, patient and loving family that must endure the brunt of it. But at least we now have an explanation after all these years.

Next week we are going to a Q&A session at HarperCommunity College. The guest speaker is Lauren Cohan, who plays Maggie Greene on AMC’s television zombie drama, The Walking Dead.  Now what revelations could that possibly bring?  

^{Green Lantern Ixl Learning System Software By Fisher-Price (Google Affiliate Ad)}

Martin Eden Looking for European Producers...

This just came to my email inbox.  I really need to get busy marketing my screenplay, Martin Eden.  This 2013 Hollywood Directory is a great start with more than 2,500 contacts and over 1000 new listings.  For those unfamiliar with Martin Eden, it is a work by author Jack London.  This novel was published in 1909 and is a semi-autobiographical account of London’s own life and times in the bay area of northern California.

My screenplay, based rather faithfully on London’s novel, has attracted some attention from Hollywood and has been requested by some pretty heavy-hitters in the film industry.  I hesitate to provide names at this time as I would not wish to appear presumptuous or count my proverbial chickens, if for some strange reason this post fell into the hands of the prospects in question.

I think one of the biggest things that my script has going for it, is that it has placed in at least four major screenplay competitions and that’s what I intend  to leverage when I begin sending out query letters to the people in this directory that would seem a good fit for my project.  It’s always exciting to cast out the nets and see what responses come in.   Generally, I will get something like 2 or 3 requests for having queried about 50 prospects.  Yes, it’s some work, but when you consider that it only takes one interested party with the money and/or connections to get this thing done.

I have always thought that Martin Eden would do very well in European markets, but I need help locating a resource like the Hollywood Directory that covers the film exec’s in places like France, Germany and the UK.  Does anybody have any advice on this for me?  If you do have any ideas for me please share.

In the mean time I’m grateful to have a pretty secure gig as a logistics manager, procuring and shipping test product for a Chicago-based market research company.  I think it’s pretty deplorable to be a writer without a means of gainful employment to fall back on.  This is not smart, and it is lazy.  Chances are slim-to-none that somebody will find your work so fascinating that they will break down your door with an offer that will get you out of your rut.  Get a job, work hard at both your day job and your writing initiatives.  Prove that your work is worthy by submitting to contests. Get a professional critique or coverage and by all means, make some contacts and SELL…SELL…SELL!!

Interesting Challenge for Screenwriters...

Okay, I'm intrigued!  If you are a screenwriter who has been making an effort to market your work, then you have probably entered your script into a competition or two.  You have likely found some social networks such as Talentville.com and Stage 32.  These are excellent forums to connect with others in the industry and to get help and creative feedback on your projects. Inktip.com and Amazon Studios are other places where you can upload your work in the hope that a producer, agent or manager might seek it out one day and offer an option deal. I have my script, Martin Eden residing in these communities.

If you have not explored these avenues, I recommend that you take a look at some of these opportunities.  My contention is, if your work isn't out there to download, nobody will ever find it.  I would not rely on Facebook or Linkedin to get you much action, as they are not dedicated to the craft. And those seeking material for a new film projects are not combing through either of these places for new prospects.

One drawback to entering competitions, subscribing to screenwriting newsletters and becoming a member of the dedicated forums, which I mentioned above, is that your email box will soon get bombarded with junk related to selling, improving getting expert feedback and coverage on your script.  You will receive all types of mail regarding every screenplay competition coming up, software, how to pitch your script to Hollywood, get an agent and how to write loglines that will get you in the door. It gets crazy I tell you!

Much of that junk I ignore and delete, but every now and again something comes through that I find intriguing, for example this from The Writers Store:

 The Writers Store is pleased to announce that Edward Saxon, Academy Award-winning® producer of The Silence of the Lambs, has joined the next round of the Industry Insider Screenwriting Contest, which is now open for submissions!
As a principal of his production company, he has developed and produced pictures with Fox, Universal, Warner Brothers, Columbia, Paramount, and Disney as well as working with numerous independent financiers, including a multi year pact with Participant Productions. Combined, Saxon's films have grossed over $700m at the box office worldwide and garnered twelve Academy Awards®. He won his Oscar for The Silence of the Lambs, which swept Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture at the Academy Awards®, one of only three films in history to do so. He also produced Philadelphia , which won two Academy Awards®, including Best Actor (Tom Hanks); Adaptation, which was nominated for 4 Academy Awards®; and the Academy Award-nominated® documentary Mandela. 

Break out your scriptwriting software and get to work, because the Industry Insider Screenwriting Contest gives you the unique opportunity to turn this idea into a solid spec screenplay that could be your ticket to Hollywood success.
The Industry Insider Screenwriting Contest is an international screenwriting competition that facilitates relationships between new writers and Industry leaders looking to help aspirants embark on writing careers.
Working from this A-list logline, you’re challenged to create up to the first 15 pages of an original script based on the given concept. Make it your own - drama, action, sci-fi... anywhere your imagination takes you.
But it doesn’t stop there. The Industry Insider Screenwriting Contest goes much further than your average competition, by providing the top 10 finalists with mentors to guide them through the entire script creation process, with the goal of completing a spec screenplay to be judged by a panel of Hollywood power players.
Here’s how it works:

• Entrants write up to the first 15 pages of a script based on the logline above, provided by Edward Saxon
• The top 10 finalists are chosen from the submissions, and receive a personalized letter of congratulations from Edward Saxon
• Each of the 10 finalists receives a copy of Movie Magic Screenwriter to professionally format their work as they enter into a 12-week Story Specialists mentoring program, consisting of feedback for every 10 pages submitted, with the goal of completing a spec screenplay based on the given logline
• After the mentoring, the finalists submit their rough drafts to our professional script readers for comprehensive Development Notes, and then have two weeks to work with their mentor and notes to complete the final draft of their screenplay for judging.
• Edward Saxon and production company Benderspink judge the completed screenplays and choose a winner

The lucky winner of this scriptwriting contest receives a classic Industry experience, including transportation to Los Angeles and:

Lush Accommodations at the Chateau Marmont

The chic Chateau, conveniently nestled right off the Sunset Strip, will serve as the home base for the Industry Insider Screenwriting Contest winner. Thinking of the many opportunities to network and hobnob with the Hollywood elite that frequent this hotspot is mind-boggling!

One-on-One with Edward Saxon at The Ivy

First on the agenda? Lunch with producer Edward Saxon at Robertson Blvd.’s uber-popular bistro, known for its steady stream of celebs and location near power-agency ICM. The winner will take in some serious knowledge and know-how from Saxon, while filling up on the Ivy’s famous nouvelle American cuisine.

Meeting with Benderspink

The Hollywood treatment continues through a conference with Benderspink, a diversified management/production company with credits including The Hangover, American Pie, and The Ring. Aspiring screenwriters dream of this kind of opportunity to meet with such an influential group, a fantasy that will come true for the lucky winner!

Movie Magic Screenwriter - Professional Formatting Software

Format your script and outline it, too, with the newly redesigned Movie Magic Screenwriter 6! This award-winning screenwriting software formats movies, television, novels, stage plays and even comic book scripts, making it the only program for all types of creative writing.

The Industry Insider Screenwriting Contest can give you the tools and the resources you need to complete a saleable screenplay. But besides the experience and the mentoring you could receive, placing in this competition shows that you can take another’s idea and turn it into a winning script - a trait that’s truly valued in Hollywood, and serves as a priceless addition to your screenwriting resume.

Looking for the regulations and answers to specific questions? Check out the Industry Insider Screenwriting Contest’s Rules and FAQs.

Click here for news regarding previous rounds of the contest.

Edward Saxon

Academy Award-winning® producer Edward Saxon has been producing feature films for 25 years. As principal of his production company, he has developed and produced pictures with Fox, Universal, Warner Brothers, Columbia, Paramount, and Disney as well as working with numerous independent financiers, including a multi year pact with Participant Productions. Combined, Saxon’s films have grossed over $700m at the box office worldwide and garnered twelve Academy Awards®. He won his Oscar for The Silence of the Lambs which swept Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture at the Academy Awards®, one of only three films in history to do so. He also produced Philadelphia, which won two Academy Awards®, including Best Actor (Tom Hanks); Adaptation, which was nominated for 4 Academy Awards®; and the Academy Award-nominated® documentary Mandela. Currently Saxon is producing Elsa & Fred starring Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer and directed by Academy Award-nominee®  ...

What a great exercise and creative challenge for any scriptwriter!  I like this one and I'm seriously considering the challenge...

Spring Cleaning, Clutter I Just Can't Dump...

So, finally it feels something like spring here in the Chicago area. and the timing couldn't be more appropriate being that Easter is this weekend. I just completed a five day water-only fast and I feel great. I'm making an effort to usher in new and more healthful eating habits as I move forward. I'm not one of those people who can ever give up such wonderful pleasures as meat, cheese and breads, as many advocates of healthy living are urging us to do these days.  I do, however recognize the need to limit some of this stuff and cut back more on snacking and sweets. We will see how long that lasts...

For me springtime also brings a sort of compulsion to get things in order, organize and clean out some clutter - "spring cleaning", if you will. I look at my yard and think about planting vegetables. I have a large packet of a salad blend seed mixture right here next to where I write. Since lettuces and greens generally do well in cool weather, I might sow some into my garden bed this weekend to pacify this need. I look at my closets, desk, bookshelves, pantries. What excess clutter can I eliminate? This need to un-clutter even goes for my computer. I like to purge all the unused downloads, icons and stale files to make room for new stuff.

Now what about my writing?  Specifically my screenplay - this rather faithful adaptation of Martin Eden that I've nurtured over the past couple years? I have all of these draft copies, many different versions of loglines and synopses that I've crafted over the last couple years. I have half a dozen query letter versions. Lots of clutter. Why is it that I can motivate myself to clean out my closets, food pantries, work space, desks, outdoor grounds, but for some reason find it so difficult to let go of all those things that I've written?  I find it so difficult to delete anything related to Martin Eden. Really this is true for most anything I write. I feel like there is some value in all of what I write at some level. This is not to say that everything I write is good.  Much of it is pretty rotten, but still, I feel this strange compulsion to hang on to my written work, as if it will be relevant some day.

I will never use one of my old drafts of Martin Eden.  So why this need to hang on to everything related to the process? Perhaps it's something like watching your own child grow over the years. Parents will keep all types of papers, artwork, articles of clothing and all kinds of trophies and memorabilia as a reminder of different and wonderful stages of their child's growth over the years.

Perhaps it is the same with my screenplay. This is like my baby and I find it difficult to part with any reminders of conception and birth, the rough, yet fascinating period when she began to walk and talk. The time and investment that it requires to watch her grow through adolescence, and eventually to full maturity.  And all the while, knowing that they will one day leave to begin a life of their very own. I know I will be proud one day, knowing that I did the best I could...

Waitng for Springtime...

Ugh... will this winter never end?  it has not been a particularly brutal winter for Chicago, but when it is officially spring, as of March 20th, the expectation, and usual temperature trend about this time should be in the upper 40's or low 50's. or around 10 Celsius. As of this writing on March 24th, the temperature is still about what we would normally get in January/February.  What makes it even more of a slap in the face, is the fact that the sunlight reflects that of spring, in terms of brightness, the suns position in the sky and length of day.  Also the birds are singing as though it were springtime. Yesterday we spotted a yellow finch, a bird that migrates north during the warmer months. Now I understand that more snow is in our forecast for this evening. I'm sure it won't be on the ground too long, but still...

I was wondering if writers are more productive during the winter months?  On the one hand it  would seem to make sense that most writers would be more prolific when there is not much to do outdoors and most folks are housebound during the darker and colder months of the year. On the other hand, during the warmer times of the year, us writers can get out, exercise and find more ideas to write about as we get out more into the natural world. We can go for long walks, while at the same time letting our creative energies go to work. it is also pleasant to sit outdoors and create, before it get too hot and buggy.

I wonder if there is a survey that exists that measures the creative cycle for a writer over the year? Maybe this is something that is too hard to measure as answers would vary too radically from writer to writer, the same as it does for those who are natural morning people and those who are at their best at night.  I think that could be interesting to measure. I feel that for myself, the warmer months might inspire more material to write about, but that perhaps more actual work is produced during the cold winter months. I suppose it has much to do with the individual, as I mentioned. Just something I am pondering as I wait for spring to arrive. Does anybody have thoughts or data on this topic?